Going Up

By John Zent, Editorial Director

Hard-core sheep hunters remind me of the penthouse culture described by novelist Tom Wolfe in his 1980s best-seller, Bonfire of the Vanities. These are ultra-rich New Yorkers who spend most of their time on the upper floors of Manhattan skyscrapers and only briefly deign to come to the surface.

Sheep hunters are equally hooked on the sensation of being on top of the world. But there are no elevators to take them up and rarely anyone to look down upon. Their skylines were built by God.

In August, North America’s early sheep seasons attract full-curl hopefuls to mountain ranges across Alaska, British Columbia, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. After long journeys northward, bush planes ferry hunters to remote staging camps surrounded by jagged peaks. Summer is ripe in the north and the weather tends to be fair if fickle. Expectation crackles in the spruce-wood campfire, pent-up energy churns like a mountain creek and everyone gazes upward for his first look at sheep.

The real hunting begins as small parties venture forth on horseback or on foot to even more remote spike camps sited where past success or present rams dictate. Tents are pitched, stones circled into a fire ring, wood gathered and water bottles filled from glacial streamlets. Up here, daylight extends 18 hours or so, and even if you sleep past dawn, each day is wearying. A rhythm emerges—climb and glass, climb more and glass more, climb, glass, climb until the ache is bone-deep, glass until your eyes itch.

By and by a worthy ram is usually spotted (sheep success tends to be higher than most mountain game), and the resulting stalk, even a long, tough ascent, can be re-energizing. Providing the hunter shoots straight, an impromptu party occurs on ground so steep it may look like everyone’s dancing. The celebration is brief, as exhaustion hits home along with the reality of getting the sheep and all hands back to camp. Sometimes you can’t get there before sundown, and since proceeding in the dark may be foolhardy, the recourse is a long, cold, hungry night on the mountain. In the absence of extreme weather, that’s a time, at least, to rest and reflect, and such nights form a rite of passage in a sport that celebrates hardship.

Along with obsessiveness, sheep hunters are widely known for a couple other more distinctive traits.

They are hunting’s iron men, fitness freaks compelled to hard workout routines in order to maintain the tireless legs, lungs and will needed to conquer mountains. Without those, a hunter won’t make it to where the big rams live. And so, far more time will be devoted to preparation than the hunt itself. Sheep hunting isn’t just something you do, it becomes a way of life.

Sheep hunters are also known for having a darned expensive hobby. Guided outings for Dall, Stone and most desert bighorn rams run well into the five figures, some $15,000 to $40,000 at current rates. Those who pursue wild sheep worldwide likely spend even more, and that’s before travel fees, license/permits and more. Fortunately there are exceptions, mostly for Rocky Mountain bighorns via tag drawings open to all comers. It takes luck, and typically years of perseverance. Drawing any sheep tag is akin to hitting the hunting lottery, and resident hunters have the best chance.

But spending big bucks or hitting the permit lotto can’t guarantee any hunter a crack at a record-book ram. Sure, you can land in an area with a great track record and hire a top-notch outfitter. Still you must get yourself up the mountain. Horses and bush planes can help, but trust me, there are places horses can’t go and scant few landing strips even for daredevils with Super Cubs and Cessna 180s.

Yet a determined hunter can walk, climb and/or crawl up just about any sheep mountain. You just have to get yourself there. When you do, and then connect with your ram, you truly are on the top of the world.

Did You Know?

Set up active decoys where you don't want geese to land. Use sleeping and resting decoys to signal the area has been checked out and it's safe enough to drop in and nap.

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Average age black bears live to in the wild

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35 mph

Speed a black bear can run for short distances

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Largest known black bear ever killed by a hunter (North Carolina)

fast fact

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